Boy Bound
by Kathryn Claire O'Connor
Summary: Sigyn's life is in danger on Asgard after the Battle of Manhattan, so she sets out to Midgard and - eventually - her husband, Loki. She doesn't know who he is anymore, though, and so, upon Frigga's suggestion, rallies some backup to accompany her. Loki/Sigyn, Thane, Clintasha, Pepperony, Captain Hill, and Bruce/Betty.
1. Chapter 1

**Here we go; off on a new story! Hopefully you guys will enjoy it!**

* * *

"Oh, my god!" Jane screamed in horror, eyes blowing wide as she stared at the television screen.

She ignored the Norwegian translation of the American news' segment – similar to what was airing on every television station in Tromso, Norway – as she saw Thor's face flash across the screen. Aliens in Manhattan? Avengers? SHIELD? Didn't Thor know to stay away from those creeps? And what was he doing back on earth to begin with, if not seeing her like he'd promised to – and then not done? And what did he have to do with aliens? _What _was going on?

For a few of the longest minutes of her life, Jane scrambled around her recently-acquired apartment in Tromso, trying to contact anyone who might know a single thing about Thor's current situation in Manhattan, but she made contact with very few people, and none of them had any answers. The one man she just _knew _would be able to explain all of this – the SHIELD agent who had nabbed this awesome job for her, Phil Coulson – wasn't even picking up his phone. Finally, she just fell back onto her ratty couch, a solitary tear finding its way down her cheek as she watched the continuous news' story on television and begged Thor to be alright.

* * *

Little did Jane know that there were two more women who were feeling the same unique brand of helpless panic at the same time she was.

Pepper Potts was flying over Philadelphia in Stark Industries private plane, surrounded by blue sky and her newest in a string of assistants as both women stared in open-mouthed shock at the footage on the plane's television screen. She squeezed her eyes shut as tears floated in her vision, but when she opened them again, it was only to see the Ironman suit – with Tony inside, she knew – fly across the screen. She was barely able to remain standing on her own two feet.

Dr. Betty Ross was working at her lab at Culver's University in Alexandria, Virginia, when the first noticed the news. Concentrating on her work, she had the volume on the television turned almost entirely down, but one sound managed to make its way through the speakers loud and clear, causing Betty to nearly drop her sample as she jumped. Eyes flying to the television, she immediately upped the volume as she noticed what she thought was a familiar flash of green. And then there he was – the Hulk, the very worst side of the one man that she had never quite been able to move on from. Seeing him in the middle of such a scene of destruction didn't quite surprise her; rationally speaking, she knew he was practically indestructible, but she was terrified for him none the less.

* * *

_The next day_

"So, I tried to kill you again, huh?" Clint asked, eyes on the road behind sunglasses as he drove Natasha to the airport after they and the others had seen Loki and Thor back to Asgard. "Thanks to Loki's mind control."

"Yeah," Natasha shrugged as if she didn't care – and maybe she actually didn't, considering how many times an attempt had been made on her life. "But it's no big deal. I know that really wasn't you."

"You know…" Clint wanted to remind her, but he wasn't good at actually _saying _it.

Natasha knew what he was going for, though, filling in the blank when she finished, "That you love me too much to off me?" she smirked, taking one of his hands in her own. "Yeah, I do. I think you always have… and I think our relationship was almost uncovered by the others back there a few times."

"Yeah," Clint agreed, not telling her that he was pretty sure he might've actually _told _Loki about the romantic nature of that relationship.

"That's why I need time away from SHIELD;" Nat gave his hand a squeeze, asking casually, "Are you coming with me?"

"Nah; can't this time."

"Not even to _Jamaica_? C'mon; we could even do one of those dumb island wedding ceremonies and have a honeymoon. When we got back to SHIELD, we could tell them that we were drunk when it happened and let them think that we weren't really married, then go home and be husband and wife."

"Tempting, Nat," Clint admitted. "Really tempting. But I can't. SHIELD wants to keep me close to base the next few weeks to make sure I don't have any nasty side effects from, you know… Loki."

"Because I couldn't take care of you if you do?"

"Because you'd take such good care of me that we might get it in our heads never to come back after this whole six-month vacation thing that they're promising us while this blows over."

"Hm," Natasha snorted. "We'll see how long we actually get."

* * *

_A month later_

Maria fiddled nervously with the spaghetti on her plate, staring listlessly at it as she sat beside Steve Rogers on his couch while they watched a movie – or he watched the movie and she thought too much.

Taking notice, Steve found the button he wanted on the remote and paused the movie, asking her, "You okay?"

"Yeah."

"Don't lie to Captain America; it wounds his delicate sense of integrity."

Maria snorted. When Steve had asked her out on their first date three weeks ago, she had accepted despite SHIELD regulations, and been pleasantly stunned to learn that Cap had a sarcastic side.

"Really, what's wrong, Maria. Talk to me. Is it work related?"

"Sort of," she admitted.

"What does that mean?"

She sighed, giving in and saying, "You know, it's probably not a good idea to start a relationship the week after one of the most traumatic experiences of your life."

Steve paused before asking her, "Are you saying that you don't want to see where this could go?"

"No, I do. That's not really even what's bothering me."

"Then what is?"

Maria chewed on her lip a moment before admitting, "I – I really like you, Steve."

"And I like you too. Is that a problem?"

"For SHIELD."

Then he got it, sitting back and saying simply, "Ah." Then, "We don't have to tell anyone about us, you know."

"But I want to!" Maria exclaimed suddenly. "And that's why it's not a good idea to start a relationship so soon after something so horrible. I know it's not rational to start broadcasting our relationship, but I want to!"

"Then let me put your mind at ease, Maria," he answered, saying in a final tone, "We can't."

"Why not?"

"Because I just agreed to come to work for SHIELD full-time last week; you know that. Now more than ever, we have to keep our relationship under the radar."

An unreasonable surge of anger uncurled in Maria's chest, but she shoved it away and snuggled into her new boyfriend, effectively ending the conversation when she admitted "I know" and played the movie.

* * *

**Reviews are better than candy, if you feel like dropping me one! Thanks!:)**


	2. Chapter 2

_A month later_

"Sigyn, this is all too much for you. You daily fear for your life, and even now in the earliest hours of the morning you cannot and will not sleep." Frigga said softly, sitting down beside her daughter-in-law on the edge of the younger woman's bed – the bed that Sigyn had shared with Loki before he'd fell from the Bifrost bridge. "You need to go to your husband."

In the muted light of a single candle, Frigga saw that Sigyn was fighting tears as she whispered, "I cannot. I-"

Seeing that the blonde goddess was going to try and refute her mother-in-law's statement, Frigga interrupted firmly, "Sigyn, Odin banished Loki to Midgard the week after Thor brought him back to Asgard. That was only two months ago, and already there have been numerous attempts on your life. I will not have you die, and neither would Loki if he knew how bad things were for you here. I cannot leave Odin's side to tell him, so you must flee to him yourself – and simply stay with him on Midgard, if you're wise."

"I cannot," Sigyn repeated.

"You must," Frigga demanded, folding Sigyn's fingers over a piece of paper that she pressed into the blonde's palm. "If something goes wrong once you're on Midgard, you may be able to garner assistance from these women. I believe they're the most likely to understand your situation. You should find Loki himself back in Manhattan with Thor."

"I'm afraid to go to him," Sigyn confessed, finally whispering the awful truth as stared at her hands. "Ever since he found out about his Jotun origins, he's been struggling, but this – his battle in Manhattan – seems different, from what Heimdall has told me. This is not the work of the Loki that I know. What if he is now so consumed by his darkness that he will not allow me refuge with him? After all, he did leave his family to begin with those two months ago. He didn't even try to arrange for to see me when Thor brought him back for sentencing, nor did he ask for me to be sent with him to Midgard. What if he truly has become the monster everyone claims he now is?"

Frigga considered this for a moment before she suggested slowly as if the idea had just come to her and she wasn't sure of it, "Then perhaps you ought to go to these women first and ask them for their help in getting through to Loki."

"Who are these women?" Sigyn asked, peering at the crumpled note through the darkness, yet unable to decipher many of the words in such weak light.

Frigga glanced towards the window, noting the first gray of dawn streaking through the Asgardian sky before she said, "There is not enough time for me to explain it all, only know that nearly all of them may be against the idea of helping you at first. Perhaps you oughtn't mention that you are Loki's bride."

"Then what am I to be?" Sigyn asked, growing nervous as she realized that Frigga meant for her to be leaving for Midgard within the next hour.

"Say you are… his and Thor's sister, and you're concerned for their wellbeing now that they're both living in Manhattan." Sigyn nodded obediently and was surprised when Frigga stood, taking Sigyn's blue cloak and draping it about the shoulders of the goddess of fidelity. The queen of the gods picked up a burlap sack and shoved it into Sigyn's hands, saying, "You must leave now before anyone who might wish you harm catches you trying to leave. Do you know any of Loki's hidden passages from Asgard to Midgard?"

"Yes;" Sigyn answered. "He's shown me one that leads to the land of Norway."

"That will be the perfect place for you to begin your journey. Go to Midgard through it – now. It'll be safest for you that way."

"Frigga," Sigyn whispered, feeling like a frightened child as she clutched the paper in one hand and the sack with the other. "I don't want to be alone."

"And you won't be for long," Frigga promised, looking her firmly in the eye, as if to will her strength as she laid her hands on the younger girl's shoulders. "The first address on that paper is that of Thor's mortal, Jane Foster. She is currently studying in Norway. Find her first." She placed a quick kiss on the girl's cheek and then took a step back, ordering, "Now, go."

Trembling, Sigyn threw her arms around her mother-in-law one more time before teleporting herself to just outside the entrance to one of Loki's portals. She stuffed the precious paper into a pocket of her dress and tied the sack into the folds of her cloak before she began walking into the cave. It was one of the portals that Loki had only used once – only the day he'd found it – since he avoided Norway like the plague because of his distaste of their portrayal of the "myths" of the gods. She'd never been inside of it before; Loki had showed it to her telling her only that if she wished some new amusement she might try going through this portal and walking around the area it led to.

But she was not amused now as she realized that the cave was lowering rather drastically the farther along she got in it. This was probably another reason Loki never used it, she thought as she was forced to fall to her knees and begin crawling. He would've had to have been crawling forward on his stomach by now.

The moment wasn't long in coming before Sigyn thought that she might have to do just that – but in that same moment the familiar rush of the Bifrost was upon her and within the next second she was thrust onto a street corner in Tromso, Norway.

Sigyn took a a moment to steady herself and then pulled the slip of paper out of her pocket, reading the first address and then starting on her way towards Jane Foster.


	3. Chapter 3

After nine weeks of waiting, Jane had finally decided the night before that she needed to give up on the idea of Thor coming back to earth any time soon. That didn't mean that she wasn't still thinking about him as she worked the next day; after all, she was in Norway, she was entitled to thinking about Nordic deities, right?

She just hadn't expected one of them to show up on her doorstep. At least… not the goddess that had done so. And certainly not at dawn.

"Dr. Jane Foster?" the pretty blonde inquired, standing in front of Jane's apartment door like it was the most natural thing to be doing this early in the morning.

"Yeah?" Jane asked groggily, trying to clear the sleep from her mind and wayward strands of bed-head hair from her eyes.

"I'm Lady Sigyn of Asgard. May I come in?"

"I… who? Asgard…? What?"

"Please, if I may, grant me entrance and I can explain everything. It's just that most mortals would be a bit… biased against me, if they realized who I was, at the moment."

"Fine," Jane muttered, moving aside to "grant" the woman in Shakespearian clothing "entrance" into her home. This woman was either definitely a friend of Thor's or a very good stage actress. Or maybe Jane was just to too tired to see through what had to be some sort of early morning scam. "Can I help you?" she asked once the door was closed behind them.

"Perhaps. I need you to accompany me to Manhattan."

Jane choked on her own saliva, flopping down onto her couch. "What!"

Sigyn –who-and-or-whatever she was – curled into herself a little, but Jane didn't notice. Instead, the scientist sprang to her feet and grabbed the one book she'd brought with her that wasn't a text book. The book of Norse mythology that Erik had given her.

"Who did you say you were?" Jane asked warily, not sure whether or not to trust this woman who was shifting nervously in the middle of the room.

"Lady Sigyn of Asgard, Loki's wife."

Shock rippled through Jane and she nearly dropped the book, managing to flip to Loki's page instead. There was one sentence, proclaiming simply that Loki did indeed have a wife named Sigyn – the goddess of fidelity. Well, somebody didn't deserve what they had – and not just because, upon second glance, Jane realized that Sigyn looked at pretty as a goddess should, even with her obvious nerves.

And wouldn't a scam artist be playing it cooler than that?

"Okay," Jane sighed, plunking back down on the couch and motioning for Sigyn to do the same. "I'll bite. Why do you need me in Manhattan? Is something wrong with Thor?"

"I…" Confusion creased Sigyn's brow as she sat down and said, "Thor and Loki have taken up at least semi-permanent residency in the new Avengers' Tower, and I need to speak to my husband."

"Why? And how does this involve me?"

"It… is unsafe for me on Asgard at the moment, and currently, considering his recent mindset, I do not want to approach Loki alone."

"So you… what? Want a wing-woman or something?"

"I'm afraid I don't understand…"

"You know – backup. Help in case something goes wrong with Loki?"

"Exactly."

"Aren't the Avengers better qualified for that?"

"My mother-in-law told me to come to you and some other women instead. I believe that she may want me to have something of my own version of the Avengers behind me if I need it."

"Well, I don't know about anyone else, but I'm no Avenger."

"Neither am I, but I need to approach him with the some 'back up' who understands where I'm coming from. I'm here only because you were at the top of Frigga's list of recommendations. But if you'd rather I found someone else…"

Sigyn began to stand, and Jane waved a hand to stop her from moving, asking, "Did you say that Thor was in Manhattan too?"

Sigyn nodded, blue eyes watching her carefully.

Jane considered all of this for a full minute while Sigyn waited expectantly, then said, "Okay. I'll come with you… but those other names on the paper? Maybe we'd better get some of them too if you're anticipating a fight with Loki."

"It's not that I'm _anticipating _anything," Sigyn said, worrying at her lip. "It's that I don't know _what_ to expect from him anymore."

"Yep," Jane decided with a sharp nod. "Then we will definitely be getting more backup – starting tomorrow morning."

"What?"

"I'll go with you, but I'm not leaving at the crack of dawn. Give me a couple more hours of sleep at least, please. You can stay here until then, if you want. I've only got one bedroom, but I can stay on the couch..."

"No, that's perfectly fine. I can stay on the couch. I won't sleep anyway."

"Maybe you should," Jane said slowly, eyes narrowing as she took a good look at Sigyn's face. "When was the last time that you got a good night's sleep?"

"How long ago did Loki leave Asgard?"

Jane whistled under her breath, turning towards the hall closet for a blanket as she said, "Try and get some sleep, okay? If you're awake at six, wake me up and we can get going to… where are we going next?"

Sigyn consulted her piece of paper before answering, "The next location on the list is Negril, Jamaica."

Jane grinned, handing Sigyn a blanket and pillow, suddenly feeling a nervous sense of adventure began to blossom as she said, "Nice!"

* * *

"Do you want something to eat?" Jane offered Sigyn the prescribed few hours later as she came out of her bedroom.

As she'd been instructed, Sigyn had come in at six on the dot and roused her, before leaving Jane to get ready for the day.

"No, thank you. I'm not hungry."

"You might as well," Jane said, brushing her hair back behind her ear as she added, "I've got to see if I can't make a few calls to get us on a flight to Jamaica; you'll have plenty of time for food."

Sigyn shook her head minutely, studying her hands as she sat on the couch. Jane crossed her arms over her chest, studying Sigyn, getting an even better look at her than she had last night. She'd bet a week's worth of pay that the goddess hadn't had a good meal since she'd had a good night's sleep.

"You've got to take care of yourself, Sigyn," Jane said gently, going to crouch down in front of the blonde. "I get that Loki's a mess right now, but it won't help him if you worry yourself into an early grave. Now, you go grab some of my clothes and change into something that won't get you as much attention as your dress, okay? I'm going to make eggs and oats for the both of us, and you're going to eat with me."

Sigyn stood, murmuring tiredly, "Very well."


	4. Chapter 4

Sigyn emerged from Jane's room only a few minutes later, already looking much less out of place in jeans and a t-shirt.

"Why do we need a 'flight'?" Sigyn asked curiously, sitting down at the bar behind where Jane was working at the stove.

"To fly to Negril in an airplane," Jane answered evenly.

After her experience with Thor in New Mexico, she was rarely surprised by questions the Asgardians came up with.

"Wouldn't teleportation be quicker?" Sigyn asked, just as nonchalantly as Jane had answered her first question.

"Can you teleport us both?" Jane asked curiously. "I thought it took Heimdall or something to move from place to place like that."

"Usually Heimdall has to get involved if one wants to leave the _planet_, but since we wish to stay in the same realm, I should be able to manage teleportation, yes. I don't travel much, but I've been taught the spells by Loki and Frigga."

"Well, that solves one problem," Jane replied, setting a bowl down in front of Sigyn and saying firmly, "But you still have to eat first."

* * *

"Are you alright?" Sigyn asked Jane carefully, steadying Jane on her feet in an empty side street of Negril.

"Yeah," Jane answered, swiping her hair out of her face as she loosened her death-grip on her suitcase. She took in her surroundings, exclaiming, "Oh, my gosh, it's beautiful here!"

"Quite the change from Tromso," Sigyn agreed. "Now, onto our next ally. Agent Natasha Romanoff. She should be staying in a hotel down the next street."

Except Natasha wasn't there.

"Maybe we should try the beach?" Jane suggested when she noticed how impatient Sigyn seemed to be getting.

"Very well."

Before Jane could say anything about simply walking there – not that she actually liked the idea of lugging her suitcase along – Sigyn pulled her close and then they were suddenly on the beach. The glory of teleportation.

"What does Agent Romanoff look like?" Jane asked, scanning the faces in the crowd.

Sigyn could only shrug. Jane, though, did a double-take when she noticed one redhead in particular, stretched out languidly on a beach settee with sunglasses on.

Touching Sigyn's shoulder, Jane murmured, "I think that's the woman who was on the news with the Avengers and Loki."

Jane and Sigyn approached warily, and once they stood beside the woman, Sigyn asked, "Agent Romanoff?"

The woman lowered her sunglasses on her nose, half-glaring up at them as she said, "That depends entirely upon who's asking, because believe it or not, it is entirely possible to hide weapons in this swimsuit, and I'm not afraid to prove it. If you're from SHIELD, scram; they gave me six months, and I don't feel like going in a minute early."

"I'm sure you don't," Jane said with an edge to her voice. "But we're hardly SHIELD. We're friends of the Thor's, and we need your help on a little team project of our own."

The woman who apparently was Natasha sighed, saying, "I'm listening."

"We need to go to Avengers' Tower to see them, but we'd feel a lot better if we had backup."

"'Them' who?" Natasha asked. "First you said Thor, then you said 'them.' Who else is on your radar?"

Jane cringed before admitting, "His brother."

Natasha dropped her sunglasses back over her eyes and relaxed back onto her chair with a short, sharp, "No." But then in an alarmed tone: "Wait, did you say that Loki was in Avengers' Tower?"

"Yes," Sigyn spoke up.

* * *

Natasha's eyes clouded with thought for a long moment before she sighed again and got to her feet, wordlessly beginning to pack up her belongings. When they got back to Manhattan, she was going to kill Clint. They'd talked on the phone as close to daily as they could, and he'd mentioned that all the male Avengers had moved into Avengers' Tower – but had failed to say that Loki was among them. And there was no way that Natasha was going to let her boyfriend live in the same house as the god of mischief without her there as backup.

"Does this mean you'll come?" the woman with brown hair asked her excitedly.

"Probably. You still haven't told me who you are, though," she pointed out, beginning to lead them back off of the beach.

"Dr. Jane Foster. I'm kind of Thor's girlfriend. And this is Sigyn-"

Natasha stopped mid-step when she recognized the name from the myths, saying, "I know who she's related to."

"Right," Jane said awkwardly as she started walking beside Natasha.

"You are related to him, right?" Natasha asked Sigyn curiously.

Sigyn nodded, admitting in a small voice, "His wife."

"You poor thing." Sigyn just bit his lip as they kept on in their trek back to the hotel."So, what's our grand objective here?"

"Getting a few more women to join us and then going to Manhattan," Jane answered.

"Why do you two want to go to Manhattan?"

Jane again replied instantly with, "To ream our guys out."

Natasha cracked a smile as she said, "You know, I was just thinking the same thing about my partner."

"Isn't he the one called Hawkeye?" Sigyn asked carefully.

Natasha nodded, eyeing the other woman – Loki's _wife_?! – warily.

"I…" Sigyn swallowed roughly. "I feel I ought to apologize for my husband. To all of the Avengers, but especially for what was done to Agent Barton. I didn't even know Loki could do what he did to him."

Natasha froze for another half-step, but she didn't think the other two noticed. Should she tell them about her suspicions where the Chitauri were concerned? It would probably be best not to – at least not for now, while they were still in public.

"It's not your fault, Sigyn," Natasha said. "Believe me, I know what it's like not to be able to talk sense into your man."

"You forgive me?"

"There's nothing you need my forgiveness for."

"And what of my husband?" Sigyn asked softly. "Can you forgive him?"

Natasha exhaled slowly. "Let's see how much I like you; then maybe we can figure out whether or not I've got a reason to forgive him."

Jane and Sigyn both looked at her as if they weren't sure whether or not she had just made a joke. Truthfully, Natasha wasn't sure either.

"Fill me in here, will you?" Natasha asked. "Who all are grabbing, and where are we headed to get them?"

"Malibu, California is the next place on my mother-in-law's list," Sigyn said.

Natasha nodded, unsurprised and needing no one to tell her who they were headed for. "Pepper Potts, here we come."


	5. Chapter 5

"Alright," Natasha said only a few minutes after she and her sudden travelling companions had gotten back to her hotel room. "I'm ready to go."

Being a spy served her well when she was in the mood to just get up and go, which was apparently what Sigyn and Jane were looking for.

"Are you going to teleport us again?" Jane asked Sigyn.

"Teleport?" Natasha repeated skeptically.

Jane informed her, "It's actually not that bad."

Natasha was getting ready to say that she would really rather not be teleported when Sigyn spoke up, saying, "I don't know that I can do that, Jane. With three people and their luggage, all the way to the United States… it may be too much for me. I'm not used to using this much magic as it is."

"That's alright," Natasha said quickly. "I can pull some strings with a friend and get someone to pick us up and fly us to Malibu ASAP, scouts honor. Just give me a sec to make a couple of calls."

With that, Natasha grabbed her cell phone and went into the next room, calling Pepper up. Though the CEO was always surprised to hear from her former assistant, they had talked a few times since Manhattan. They weren't quite friends – Natasha qualified no more than a handful of people as her friends, and Pepper hadn't made the cut just yet – but when the spy told her a little of what was going on, Pepper volunteered to personally fly out and pick them up.

"Are you sure?" Natasha asked uncertainly. "That's over an eight hour flight one way, you know."

"Yeah, but Tony's got a private plane here, and a personal employee of Stark Industries-slash-pilot who knows how to fly it, so we should be all set. Besides, you're in Jamaica; who in their right mind doesn't want to visit there when the opportunity comes up? If you three don't mind waiting for me, I certainly don't mind coming in person. The office is getting a little claustrophobic."

Natasha almost smiled with amusement. "Okay then. I'll see you."

With that, Natasha hung up, suddenly remembering to hope that Sigyn and Jane weren't upset with the delay that would more than likely take up an entire day out of whatever schedule they might be trying to keep. It was the best she could do on such short notice, though, if Jane and Sigyn wanted to stay off of SHIELD's radar until they showed up at Avengers' Tower, as it appeared they did.

"We've got a plane on its way here," Natasha informed them, tucking her phone away as she walked back into the living room. "But it's going to take a little over eight hours to get here."

"What?!" Jane yelped.

"Unless you want me to call the Avengers to see if they know of someone closer to Jamaica who could take us."

Jane faltered, but Natasha was more interested in Sigyn's reaction. Skin that was already alabaster turned a deathly shade that was even paler as her eyes widened with nearly instantaneous panic.

"Are you okay?" the redhead asked her.

Sigyn took a steeling breath before quietly saying, "Yes."

"I don't believe you," Jane said, laying a hand on the blonde's knee as she watched her with concern and said, "We won't let him hurt you."

"You can't promise that. You're defenseless against him, Jane, and guns or no, Agent Romanoff, you might as well be. If he doesn't want to come along quietly – or refrain himself from hurting me – than he won't."

"Has he ever laid a hand on you before?" Jane asked softly.

"No, and that's what's so ridiculous about this! He just gets so _angry _sometimes. Since he found out about his Jotun origins, I've been afraid of what he has come close to doing… but he hasn't actually done anything to me. I just fear that… with having been defeated in Manhattan and then banished… I don't know what he's capable of anymore. Maybe I don't even know who he is anymore either."

"That's not being stupid," Natasha spoke up. "That's being cautious, and it's smart." The SHIELD agent sat down slowly on the couch so that Sigyn was between her and Jane as she thought for a second before saying, "But I saw two sides of Loki during the Battle of Manhattan. One of our guys – the Hulk – gave him a pretty solid beating that eventually left him unconscious." Sigyn paled even further, but Natasha charged ahead, continuing, "But all of us Avengers were there when he woke up… and seeing him when he woke up reminded me of that moment when I knocked the mind control out of Clint."

"What are you saying?" Jane asked cautiously.

"I'm saying… that I think that maybe Loki was under the Chitauri's control. Mind control, like what was used on Clint, maybe, but it would've had to have been stronger over Loki."

"That makes sense…" Sigyn said thoughtfully. "That is how magic can work in some cases."

Natasha asked, "How so?"

"It's like," Sigyn searched for an example before saying, "It's like Odin, Thor, and Mjolnir. Everyone thinks that Thor has total control over Mjolnir, and in a way, he does – but he doesn't. Odin does. He gave Thor the hammer and its magic, and he can take it away at will; he's even done so before, when Thor was banished for that little while. When Thor has the hammer, the magic is still strong with him, but weaker than it is at any given time with Odin.

"Mind control from the Chitauri might work the same way, but I don't know; no one really knows anything about the Chitauri… except for Loki. With mind control – if, Agent Romanoff, you're theory is correct – Loki could've had a great deal of control over Agent Barton even while the Chitauri were controlling him."

Sigyn was explaining all of this in a perfectly calm, rational voice, but Natasha saw the spark that came into her eye, heard the nearly imperceptible excitement creep into her voice. She'd just given the blonde a scenario in which –a reason to hope that – her husband wasn't a monster. Seeing that, Natasha suddenly hoped that she was right, for Sigyn's sake.


	6. Chapter 6

Natasha having shared her mind control theory with Jane and Sigyn seemed to give them all the patience to wait civilly for Pepper to show up, and the three found themselves on downright friendly terms by the time Pepper showed up at Natasha's hotel room at five pm.

"Hey," Pepper greeted Natasha with a smile when the door was opened for her. She held up a bag of take-out declaring, "I brought burgers!"

"And that is why we love you," Natasha said, stealing the greasy bag from the CEO as she shut the door behind Pepper.

"No, you don't," Pepper said with a wry smile. "But you probably should after this chauffeuring thing you talked me into."

Natasha smirked at the other redhead. Natasha was distrustful by nature, and Pepper still held out the smallest bit of animosity over the "Natalie Rushman thing," but they'd declared a truce that left Pepper as one of two females to whom Natasha was closest – Maria Hill being the other.

"I did not _talk you into _anything; you decided to come along when I asked for a plane ride." Natasha turned and walked further into the hotel room, warning as Pepper followed her, "And you'd better not start complaining about chauffeuring just yet; we've been looking at our instructions, and apparently we've got to make a stop in Alexandria, Virginia, before we head to New York."

Turning her attention away from Natasha, Pepper introduced herself to Sigyn and Jane before saying, "You didn't really tell me much about what was going on over the phone, Nat; do you three mind expanding a bit on the plans we've got laid out here?"

"Well, that depends on when you're wanting to get back up in the air," Jane said. "It might be easier to wait until after we're airborne."

Pepper flinched as she folded herself onto the couch beside Natasha, admitting, "My pilot is refusing to leave before seven-thirty tomorrow morning."

Sigyn's head sank into her hands – frustration or relief? Natasha wondered – and Jane swore, obviously irritated.

"That's okay," Natasha said, trying to smooth the goddess and scientist over. "We can all four stay here tonight. It'll be a little cramped, but if we don't mind doubling up, someone can sleep by me, and there's a hide-a-bed underneath the couch that'll fit two."

"It'll be like a sleepover," Pepper offered cheerfully.

"Exactly," Natasha said, getting a little nervous at the idea, but choosing not to show it.

And it really wasn't that bad, she realized the next morning. The four women had spent the evening of Pepper's arrival getting to know one another and discussing the grievances – some shared, surprisingly – that they associated with whoever "their man" was. Pepper had spent most of this time with Sigyn, comparing and contrasting Loki and Tony. Natasha had chosen to stay out of that conversation, no matter how much she wanted to add to it, and talked with Jane about the pros, cons, and downright annoyances of dating a "warrior" like Thor and Clint considered themselves to be.

That was the first time in a long time that Natasha had done anything that might even begin to be considered "girl talk" and she found that she genuinely enjoyed it.

As Jane had suggested the night before, it wasn't until they were on the plane and headed from Negril to Virginia that Jane and Sigyn began to fill Pepper in on the master plan while Natasha called ahead to Culver University in Alexandria and explained their situation to Dr. Elizabeth Ross. When the scientist realized that they were less than four hours from D.C., she began to panic a little, having already been uncertain of the idea of meeting Dr. Banner again. In the end, sensing the mindset of the woman on the other end of the call, Sigyn had taken the phone from Natasha, moved to the far side of the plane, and began to talk in a low voice.

Whatever Sigyn had said, it had been what Dr. Ross had needed to hear, and she was waiting for them outside the airport when they emerged a little before noon.

"Lunch, anyone?" the brunette asked cheerfully once a round of introductions had been made.

Another delay, another distraction, another (maybe) friend made – this time in the form of Dr. ("Call me Betty") Ross, Dr. Banner's former girlfriend from the time of his gamma accident – but none of the travelers seemed to mind, especially not if lunch was involved. It also gave the four women who were already determined to go to New York a chance to re-convince Dr. Ross, who seemed almost as wary of the idea of seeing Bruce again as Sigyn did seeing Loki. That was a comparison that made Natasha flinch, but she had to admit that it was an honest one.

All the same, the SHIELD assassin found herself defending Bruce to the woman who claimed to still love him despite the Hulk and her own misgivings, which she claimed had grown over the years – understandably, if her only exposure to him had been through Hulk-centered news clips. But eventually Natasha had the doctor fully convinced that Dr. Banner was much more in control of his heart rate – and by extension, the "other guy" who had at one time all but taken over his life. He was back in control of his own life now, though, and Natasha told Betty as much, informing her of Dr. Banner's current living situation – in a mansion with four other men in New York City – which both entirely shocked Betty and convinced her to go see him again.

Although Natasha didn't say so, it seemed to her that once Betty had become convinced that Dr. Banner was once again living a civilized life, she got in an a big hurry to become a part of that new life of his. Maybe she really did love him after all… Natasha wouldn't put it past Dr. Banner to have fled from Betty, as his file from SHIELD said he had, instead of it happening the other way around.

Maybe she could get that verified on the ride from Alexandria to New York City…?

And it was easy enough for that to happen, at least for a skilled interrogator like Natasha who managed to get the answer in the middle of another girl gab session once they were on the plane and flying towards New York and the last person on their list – surprisingly enough, Agent Maria Hill. As it turned out, Betty told the four other women that Bruce had disappeared as the Hulk after a blowout fight in Harlem and never come back. Apparently he was still in New York now, though, unsuspecting as ever of all the women who were dangerously close to descending upon Avengers' Tower.


	7. Chapter 7

Once Natasha had gotten the answers she wanted from Betty, though, her thoughts turned to Agent Maria Hill, and why she might be on the list that Sigyn had. Agent Hill was Natasha's closest female friend, and though she'd never said so to her face, Natasha had noticed the way that the brunette agent had looked at Steve Rogers the first time she'd seen him before the Battle of Manhattan.

It made Natasha wonder, and she shared her thoughts with the other four women aboard Tony's plane, asking for their opinions.

"You said that you weren't told anything about the women on your list, right, Sigyn?" Pepper asked.

"Correct."

"Well, let's do a little deducing then," Betty suggested, settling into a more comfortable position in her seat on the plane. "_So far_, every woman on that list has been romantically involved with one of the Avengers men, am I right?"

A collective nod.

"And here's another thing:" Jane said, scrounging around in her purse until she drew out a crumpled sheet of her notes and a pen. Smoothing out the piece of paper, she began writing on the clean side of it as she continued to speak. "The guys are Thor, Loki, Clint, Tony, Bruce, and Steve." She drew a dash beside Thor's name, and then her own name behind the dash, continuing, "I, Jane, am basically in a relationship with Thor… or I would be, if he had ever come back to see me, like he promised. Sigyn is married to Loki. Pepper is dating Tony, and Natasha is in a relationship with Clint. Betty is kind of close to getting in my boat; you'd still be in a relationship with Dr. Banner if he'd come back for you, true?"

Betty agreed, and Jane held up her paper triumphantly, saying, "There are five women currently on this plane, and we're going to pick up the final one. There are also six men, and only one of which doesn't have a girl recorded on this paper. That guy is Steve Rogers, and the woman we're going to pick up is Agent Hill."

"Was that your long way of saying that you think they've got something going on with one another?" Natasha asked Jane.

"Yep," Jane nodded pertly, ignoring Natasha's eye-roll as she asked Pepper, Sigyn, and Betty, "What do you guys think?"

The other three women agreed with Jane easily.

"Well," the former Russian muttered. "That should make this interesting."

* * *

Surprised at who she thought she saw coming through the doors of the SHIELD headquarters helicarrier, Agent Maria Hill did a double take before realizing that not only was Agent Romanoff here, but she was followed closely by four other women and heading in Maria's direction. The brunette almost yelped in surprise when Agent Romanoff simply grabbed her by the elbow as she passed by, not even glancing at Maria as she dragged her along beside her into Maria's tiny office and shut the door behind the six women.

"You're back early," Maria huffed, ripping her arm from Natasha's grasp. "And with guests, I see – unauthorized, I'm sure."

"We won't be here long enough for anyone to notice," Natasha said coolly, taking a seat atop Maria's desk as she met the other agent's eyes. "We're going to Avengers Tower, and we want you to tag along."

"Thanks, but no, thanks; I have actual work to do."

"We're asking for your _help_ here, Hill," Natasha replied before switching tactics and adding, "And if we don't get it willingly, we'll just drag you along as out hostage. Right now it's five against one, and I could even take you myself. Who do you think would win that battle?"

"And why do you need my help so desperately?" Maria asked, crossing her arms across her chest.

"As backup in case Loki starts to go haywire once we get there."

"Or some of the other guys," added a woman with hair the same shade as Maria's own.

Maria narrowed her eyes at the other brunette, trying to place where she knew her face from. A second later, it hit her. Dr. Banner's file. This was Dr. Elizabeth Ross. Scanning the other faces, Maria recognized most of them easily then. Pepper Potts, of course, with Dr. Jane Foster and Natasha. But who was the tiny blonde?

"Let me guess," Maria drawled sardonically. "You're Sigyn?"

She was surprised when the woman answered softly, "Yes."

"And she is understandably afraid of her husband at the moment," Natasha spoke up again.

"Then why not just stay home and do needlepoint or something?"

Sigyn flushed, looking Maria squarely in the eye as she replied, "Because in the past nine weeks, I have had no less than twenty attempts on my life while on Asgard, and contrary to what you Midgardians believe, the people of Asgard are not immortal. Mine might not be the best life at the moment, but it is the only one I have, and I would like to keep it. To that end, my mother-in-law sent me here with the instructions to gather allies and then approach my husband. You were on the list of women she gave me, and that is why we require your assistance."

"But why me?"

"Good question," Natasha said, watching her carefully. "Right now, our theory is that you have a thing going on with Captain America. True or false?"

"How about none of your darn business?"

"So, it's true, then."

"Not according to SHIELD or – if you were to ask him – Steve." Even if she had quickly grown fed up with that fact in the past weeks

"That hurts," Sigyn spoke up again. "How easily men who claim to love you can shove you aside in the name of their battles."

"He does love me," Maria said quietly, barely believing she was saying the words.

"I believe you," Sigyn replied. "I'm not saying he doesn't; I'm saying that, in a way, I understand your situation. And that perhaps it's time to rectify the Avengers' understanding of those circumstances. I would greatly appreciate it if you would come help us resolve my situation. Well, perhaps it's now become mine, and Jane's, and Betty's situations, and I believe that Natasha even has a few choice words for her Hawkeye as well."

"You better believe I do," Natasha said, offering to Maria, "You wanna come see the show?"

"Or join in it?" Jane cajoled.

Maria looked around at the five women, considering this situation and all of its outcomes before she sighed laboriously, giving in with a quick nod of her head, but saying, "We need a plan."

"We'll get it together on the way." Jumping down from Maria's desk, Natasha declared, "Now, off to the tower!"


	8. Chapter 8

"Sir, we appear to have visitors approaching the entrance," Jarvis said, interrupting a perfectly good soccer game that the men were watching on the flat screen inside of Avengers Tower.

"If it's more paparazzi, kick them out," Tony ordered absently.

"No, sir, it's Miss Potts, and she appears to have brought some friends."

"Well, why didn't you say so, J? Let her in!"

Clint asked from the opposite side of the couch Tony was seated on, "I thought you said she wasn't due back in New York for another two months?"

"She's not; happy surprise, I guess. Who's she got with her, Jarvis?"

"I recognize Agents Romanoff and Hill, along with Drs. Foster and Ross. The sixth woman is not entered into any of my files."

The room practically exploded.

"Natasha is not ready to have a faceoff with Loki!" from Clint.

An eager "Jane is here?" from Thor before he said in a much more subdued tone, "I hope she isn't displeased that I have yet to contact her. You should have reminded me to do so, brother."

"Don't blame the pathetic state of your love life on me!" Loki protested.

"Betty?" Bruce gasped warily. "There is absolutely no way; I haven't seen her in years! This could be bad for the 'other guy's' dormancy, Tony."

And it was somewhere within this flurry of comments that Pepper and Natasha came into the room.

Instantly making a beeline for Clint, Natasha fell back on a good old-fashioned shoulder dislocation for him as she asked, "When were you going to tell me that Loki is living here with you guys?"

"I wasn't," Clint said, grasping his hurt shoulder. "Since I knew you'd react this way."

"Didn't know you'd bring a whole army behind you, though," Tony commented.

Natasha glanced at the billionaire, biting out, "That's not for my sake." She turned back to Clint then, asking, "Are you okay?"

"Minus my shoulder? Just fine. So nice to see you again, babe. I love you too."

"I take it you told them about us, then?" Natasha queried.

"Nobody had to tell us anything, Natasha," Steve said. "We'd all figured it out even before Manhattan was over."

"It's kind of nice when people can figure it out like that," Pepper said vaguely. "That way you can't really deny that you're in a relationship with someone, you know?"

Maria emerged in the doorway, remarking casually in a way that was loaded with meaning, "Yeah, must be nice not to have to listen to him pretend he doesn't love you."

Steve flinched, asking warily, "Am I in trouble?"

"Loads of it, depending on how you look in comparison to others by days' end," Maria replied.

"Well, if you want to start comparing people," Jane said, coming into the room. "At least Steve calls you when he says he will. Shows up for date night, gives you flowers every once in awhile, I'm sure – and of course, if yours was a long-distance situation, he'd call to tell you when he was in town, wouldn't he?" Jane turned a cool gaze onto Thor as she asked, "I mean, why _wouldn't _you call and tell your girlfriend when you were in town?"

Thor squirmed, offering, "I meant to inform you, dear Jane; I must've just lost track of the time."

"Nine weeks worth of time?" Jane asked dryly, going over and sitting down on Thor's knees, which meant that she wasn't as truly ticked off as some of the others. "You seem to do that a lot."

"Adjusting to Midgardian flow of time, I suppose," Thor said with a weak smile.

"Hm," Jane gave him a quick peck on the lips before deciding, "I guess it's like Maria said; we'll have to see how you compare by the end of all of this."

"Compare to who?" Betty asked, slipping into the room. "Bruce? Because he's hardly stupid. If his friend hasn't come out by now, he's not going to, right, Bruce?"

Bruce took stock of himself in silence for a second before he answered, "I don't think he will."

"Wonderful," Betty said, a blush creeping up her cheeks as she took a step towards Bruce, offering, "Long time, no see."

Bruce's smile came and then faltered as he asked, "Am I in some sort of trouble for leaving you at Harlem?"

"No," Betty decided after a moment's thought as she took another step towards him. "You were trying to protect me by staying away, and I understand that – even if I don't like it. But I'd like to stick around for a little bit if you wouldn't mind?"

"Not at all, I've got plenty of room on my level of the tower," he said eagerly, closing the gap between them until he held her in his arms. "So long as you don't mind putting up with me?"

Betty grinned. "Not at all."

"Wonderful."

"Would you just kiss her already?!" Tony spoke up loudly.

Neither doctor bothered to even glance Tony's way before they gladly complied with the request. Pepper glared at her boyfriend, though, saying, "And here you weren't even going to be in any trouble for once."

"It's okay, Pepper," Betty said, pulling away from Bruce's kiss with a nearly giddy laugh.

"Are you certain you're all 'okay'?" Loki asked curiously, raising his eyebrows in knowing inquiry. "Because Jarvis said there was six women entering the tower, and so far I only see five." He cocked his head to the side, looking at them shrewdly as he asked, "Who's the final one, and where is she?"

Betty went from laughing to livid in an instant as she snapped at Loki, "Last I saw, trying not to pass out around the corner over there."

Concern flashed through Loki's eyes as he asked again, "Who is she?"

"Go see for yourself," Maria said. "If she's about to faint, I doubt she feels like walking in here."

"Now, why would she be about to lose consciousness?" Loki asked. "If she's who I think she is, she's never been prone to fainting spells before."

"She's never been so petrified of you before either," Jane almost snarled the words.

Loki sighed. "She of all people ought to be able to trust me without fear. Why wouldn't she?"

"For the same reason I've spent the last few hours biting my nails to the quick," Betty said. "She loves you, yes, but she's seen the monster that you can become."

Loki flinched then, saying, "As I've already explained to the men, that was the Chitauri's doing."

"We figured that out too," Natasha said. "Doesn't mean it's helping her much right now."

"What do I do?" Loki softly asked no one in particular.

The five women glanced at one another before simultaneously pointing towards the doorway – and the woman on the opposite side of the wall.


	9. Chapter 9

Sigyn sat in a heap on the floor right outside the open doorway, trying to keep even her breathing silent as she staved off a bout of panic. What had she been thinking to come here? Now that her backup was distracted by their own men, there was no telling what Loki was free to do if he so desired. And wasn't that just it; that she had no idea what he would do when he saw her again after the past months?

The voices on the other side of the wall floated in and out of her notice, though none of it was really making any sense to her ears, she was so lost in her own thoughts. Then she noticed a moment of silence before footfalls filled her ears. Loki – and he was walking towards her.

She wanted to run, flee like she had done so many times when someone had tried to take her life on Asgard, but she found that she was more frozen then ever by her fear. And that was before his long shadow fell over her.

Her breath caught raggedly in her throat as she looked up into her husband's pale eyes and he said lightly, "Hello, love."

* * *

Loki hated himself. Hated himself with a passion. He had despised realizing the extent of what he had caused in Manhattan, but this – looking down at this horribly petrified woman that he so cared for – was enough to make him want to try putting a bullet in his mouth, just as Banner had. It probably wouldn't work for him anymore than it had for the good doctor, though, so that left him with no option beyond facing what was now in front of him.

"I won't hurt you, love," he said softly, crouching down in front of Sigyn and hating the fact that he even had to say the words – hating that she didn't already know that for certain.

She tried to back further away from him, only to find her back already flattened firmly against the wall.

Loki felt actual tears press against the backs of his eyes as he reached a hand out to her only for her to flinch like she was anticipating a slap. "Sigyn…" he murmured, heart constricting painfully.

She looked away from him, closing her wide-with-terror blue eyes as she buried her face in her shoulder. Her breathing was becoming even more erratic, and it took Loki a second to realize that she was fighting an honest panic attack.

By the Norns, had he done this to her?

The thought nearly killed him, and he did the first thing he could think of to ease her suffering. He brushed his hands through the air over her cowering form, catching her in his arms as his sleeping spell took instant effect. He rearranged her carefully so that he was kneeling with his back against the wall and she was lying comfortably on her back with her head in his lap, blonde hair spilling across his knees.

Jane rounded the corner to check on them, instantly snapping at him when she saw Sigyn sleeping, "What did you do to her?"

"A harmless spell; she was about to start hyperventilating," he answered thickly, running a hand tenderly through the silky strands of her hair. "She'll wake up in a minute." Jane blinked, more than likely surprised at the thoughtfulness with which he was treating Sigyn – and why, pray tell, shouldn't he treat her kindly? – and into that silence, he confessed, "I never, ever meant to cause her harm."

"Well, you did," his brother's girl answered flatly, folding herself onto the floor beside Sigyn's still form and taking one of her hands. "She's been with me for a couple of days, getting all of us women together, you know, and I happen to know that you've caused her quite a lot of stress, among other things."

"What do you mean?" he asked, raising his eyes to Jane's in alarm.

"I mean that she said once that there had been at least _twenty_ attempts on her life since you left her in Asgard to try and take over the planet. I mean that – as you can obviously see – you've pretty much wrecked her emotionally, mentally, and pretty darn close to physically. I've had to practically force her to eat and rest, though I'm sure she hasn't been sleeping. She told me herself she hadn't eaten well or gotten a good night's sleep since you left. I don't care what you _meant _to happen to her, Loki; _your_ actions came _this close _to _destroying her_. You want someone to support you? To be proud of you? To love you? She wouldn't be in this state or on earth at all, if she didn't want to be there for you, if she didn't love you. But I hope you're proud of yourself for what you've done to her, because no one else is ever going to want you to look them in the eye again unless you can make this better for her. Right now she came to you running _for her life_, so you know what? I hope you can't look yourself in the eye when you look into a mirror, because you see the way she is right now, _Loki of Jotunhiem_? You. Did. This. To. Her. So, congratulations. You wanted to conquer something, bring people to their knees? There's your wife, fallen to her knees and broken. You accomplished your mission."

* * *

Sigyn came to herself slowly, keeping her eyes closed and forcing her foggy mind to register her surroundings. She was laying on the floor, her head propped in someone's lap. Jane was gripping her hand tightly. The scent of Loki's cologne and the astrophysicist's voice swirled around her. Jane sounded angry, and Sigyn's first comparison was that of Thor as a child when he had been defending his little brother after finding that the then-children Warriors Three had played a cruel trick on Loki, as had happened often enough.

Sigyn's eyes remained closed until she felt something warm and wet land on her cheek. A tear. Loki's. Was her husband _crying_? Why would he be doing that?

"I never meant…" he choked on the softly spoken words, like his heart was breaking for some reason, but Jane interrupted.

"Screw intentions. This is what _happened regardless_, and now you get to fix it. She cannot continue on like this, do you understand that? You have to prove to her that you can be the man she thought you were. You have to be the man she deserves. You get that?"

Another tear fell, this one onto Sigyn's collarbone, leaving her to believe that Loki must've nodded. Wait, was he crying _because of her_?

At this thought, Sigyn's eyes fluttered open and she squeezed Jane's hand. Loki hurriedly tried brushing away his tears without success and Jane smiled easily down at her, saying softly, "Hey… All better?"

"Superb…" Sigyn murmured, letting her eyes drift closed again while despising the spell that left her feeling as drowsy as a child in her mother's lap.

"Good," Jane whispered, rising to her feet as she said, "I guess you two have some catching up to do. Just call if you need any of us, okay?"

Sigyn nodded and once Jane had disappeared, Loki ran a hand over Sigyn's forehead, murmuring again in a teary voice, "Hello, love."


	10. Chapter 10

"You shouldn't let Jane talk to you that way."

Strange first words to come out of her mouth, considering how angry she was supposed to be at him, and how terrified she had been only a couple of minutes ago.

"Not even if she's telling me the truth?"

"I have the right to tell you that truth. Frigga has the right. Maybe even Odin or Thor. But not Jane Foster."

"I think she does," Loki admitted softly.

"I only met her not even three days ago."

"But she's practically my sister-in-law, and that tone she was using says she knows it."

"What tone?"

"The one that sounded like Thor chastising the Warriors Three."

Sigyn almost laughed, nearly smiled, and ordered him to shut up.

"Why?" he asked, and she could hear the light smile in his voice despite the fact that she had yet to open her eyes a secodn time.

"Because I don't want to think like you!"

Loki paused, going absolutely still with thought before he shifted and pulled her into his arms and stood. Within the next second, Sigyn felt the snapping rush of air that meant he'd just teleported the two of them, and her eyes flew open to assess her new surroundings.

A bed chamber, presumably still in Avengers Tower. Cloth and walls of gold and reds didn't tell her much except for the fact that whoever had designed this room, it hadn't been meant for Loki. Upon noticing a few green knickknacks, a couple of artifacts, and numerous piles of books thrown everywhere, however, she realized that these were, in fact, his quarters.

Her husband moved to lay her on the bed, but she wrapped her arms around his neck and held on, for some reason not wanting to leave his embrace just yet. He looked at her strangely before sitting down on the edge of the bed with her still in his arms.

"Would you believe me…" he asked her with slow solemnity, searching her eyes as he spoke. "If I told you that the Chitauri had made me do what I did here in Manhattan?"

She nodded without hesitation, laying her head carefully over on his chest. "Agent Romanoff told us she suspected that much."

Even without looking at his face, she could tell that little piece of information had surprised Loki, but he moved on from it quickly, tilting her chin up so that they were looking eye to eye when he asked her, "Would you believe me if I told you that I love you?"

The pause that gave her hurt him, and Sigyn knew it, but eventually she nodded, despite biting on her lip.

"What makes you doubt my love, then?" he asked frankly.

"Loki… you abandoned me. So many people tried to kill me so many times, just because of guilt by association that Frigga eventually made me leave Asgard to seek refuge here with you. Even when you came back to Asgard, you never asked to see me. What am I supposed to think?"

"That when I left you the first time, I meant to come back immediately and victoriously, and even then I wasn't thinking properly because of the Chitauri. That it never once crossed my mind that you might be hated so for my actions. That when Thor did escort me back to Asgard, I didn't want you to see your beloved in such a debased state."

"That's selfish and stupid, and you know it. I wouldn't have cared what state you were in, so long as I could see you! Regardless of what you may have done over the years, I am your _wife_, and I will be 'so long as we both shall live' whether or not you like it! I deserve for you _not to shut me out_!"

"You deserve much more than that," Loki said in a low voice. "Much more than I could ever give you. I knew that the day I wed you, and I know it more now than ever. And I am _sorry _for everything that makes you believe you aren't worth the rule over a thousands thrones to me."

"I don't need or want _things_, Loki! I want to be by your side – and to be comfortable there, able to trust you! I want to be allowed to love you, and to know that I am loved. I want you to be the man – the _good _man – that I know you are capable of being! I want us to be happy again – even if that happiness is found here on Midgard living with the Avengers."

"Forever, Sigyn, I promise," Loki vowed. "I'll never leave you again, if you're willing to stay with me. I want you to trust me, and know that I would never, _ever _lay a hand on you. I've… gone through some troubling times mentally, but I'm healing from that, and I am becoming a better person – perhaps even going back to the man I was before the Jotuns got involved. _I love you_, though I know I have caused you immeasurable hurt, and I want to see you happy again, my Sigyn. I want to be the man who is able to make you happy again. Will you let me?"

"There's no spell that will instantly fix what's been done, Loki."

"I know, but day by day if you'll let me try to make it up to you, I'll try to become that man that you deserve, even if it takes all of eternity."

Sigyn smiled at him, slowly coming to believe him as she replied, "Well, I suppose there's no harm in it for either of us, since I am already bound to you for all eternity."

Loki blinked, seeming shocked when he realized that she'd just forgiven him with that statement while simultaneously saying that she would remain with him. He swallowed – she suspected against tears that matched those pooling in her own eyes – and leaned towards her ever so slowly, giving her a chance to leap away from his advance.

But she didn't; she stayed, and in the next instant his lips were on hers, then ghosting across her ear as he whispered for her alone, "I'll love you forever, my darling goddess of fidelity."

Sigyn smiled, feeling the last of her tension and mistrust towards her beloved husband vanish into thin air as she replied, "And I you, my silly god of mischief."

* * *

**And there you have it; what was hopefully a very fluffy end-note on which this story ends. I hope you guys enjoyed this! Reviews would make my day if you feel so inclined. Thanks!:)  
**


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